Man oh man; Australia produces some great extreme metal acts, especially those of the black, death, and war variety. The fertile down-under breeding ground has given us another righteous death metal act in Defamer and its first full-length release, Chasm.

This one is all about evil atmosphere and old school spirit, but damn, it takes a while to cut through that muddy production to really get to the meat of it. I should take a step back though, as raw and dirty production is exactly what a band like Defamer needs; it’s just that in this case it takes a few listens to fully appreciate the organized chaos and swirling vortex riffing. In other words, it’s a double edge sword.

But don’t let me distract you from the main point here; Chasm is a gnarly, soot covered beast of an album. It defines the term “hellish,” one of those albums that strikes fear into the hearts of the pious and sends the nu-death wannabes running for cover in the mall halls like cockroaches scurrying when the light switch is hit. Consider a mix of early Immolation crossed with the epileptic arrangements of Catholicon and the pure death annihilation of Necrovation. The growls are low and cavernous, the riffs spin, kick, and summersault around a rhythm section gone haywire, yet that somehow anchors the beat of the song.

After regaining your equilibrium after the initial sonic shock to the system, you’ll hear fingers flying off frets and what appears to be an eight-armed drummer, although the guys do slow it down from time to time and let the sections of doomy crunch envelope the listener before the walloping begins anew. However, what really makes Chasm tick is Defamer’s ability to create an indefinable atmosphere of dread. Technically speaking, this shit is just evil.

[Visit the band's website]

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